


Ipseity

by DarknessChill



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-15
Updated: 2018-04-13
Packaged: 2018-09-17 15:07:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,773
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9330764
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarknessChill/pseuds/DarknessChill
Summary: The cynical part of Jack Morrison says he wouldn't have chased them if he hadn't already been there about Los Muertos. He tells himself that saving the girl is a means to an end, and nothing more, that he wouldn't have done it otherwise.He's not a hero, not anymore.





	1. Chapter 1

**\- Soldier: 76 -**

Back when he and Gabe were still tolerating each other, Gabe had taken a week off and vanished to Dorado. As someone who never took vacation but encouraged it for everyone else, Jack was happy to approve the time off (though he probably shouldn't have been in charge of time off for _Gabriel)_ and to chat with Gabe about his vacation when he came back. 

He'd never asked about the girl, though. He knew there was a girl, he knew she was pretty, but the peace between him and Gabriel was unstable at best and nonexistent at worst, and his old friend's personal trysts were the least of his worries. They'd been able to talk for about five minutes before someone shouted for him from another room and he'd had to cut off one of the last pleasant conversations he'd have with Gabriel. 

He doesn't even _remember_ the conversation until two years after Overwatch crumbles with its Swiss HQ, while he's walking down an alley in Dorado, following up on rumors that the local gangs are taking Omnic hostages. A young girl, maybe twelve, darts across the street, chasing after a truck full of laughing, taunting Los Muertos gang members. 

The cynical part of Jack Morrison says he wouldn't have chased them if he hadn't already been there about Los Muertos. He tells himself that saving the girl is a means to an end, and nothing more, that he wouldn't have done it otherwise.  

He's not a _hero,_ not anymore. 

One of the gang members throws a grenade at Jack and the girl as they flee and when Jack turns, all he can see is Gabriel in the girl's terrified face. His eyes, his nose, his – his what, his _daughter_? 

He doesn't think, he dives. He shields the girl's body with his own, his reinforced coat taking most of the impact. He saves the girl with Gabe's face instead of chasing the truck and he can't bring himself to regret it even as he follows her back to her family's panaderia to make sure she gets home safely. 

* 

He tries to forget about it, but every time he passes through Dorado, his feet bring him to the panaderia. He never goes in, just listens for her voice from outside and leaves once he gets confirmation that she's still okay. It feels too much like stalking for his tastes, and the old Gabe would have teased him mercilessly about it.  

That doesn't stop him, though. 

 He's heading south, on track to make it Dorado the next day, when he gets a message from Angela that just says, " _Reaper spotted in Dorado_." 

In general, he doesn't seek Reaper out (he has no intentions of getting shot, and the wraith is hunting down old Overwatch members) but Angela, the only ex-Overwatch member who knows why Jack Morrison's grave is empty and exactly who Soldier: 76 used to be, thinks he has some sort of attachment to Dorado. 

It's not an attachment to the city, really. It's an attachment to an old friend (to the asshole who had been his _best friend_ before their fighting ruined everything), and to the girl with his face who lives in Dorado. It's an attachment to all that's left of Gabriel Reyes.  

So, he's not really ashamed of the way he picks up the speed and makes it to Dorado by sundown, or of the way he sits on the roof of the Mision Dorado, across from the panaderia, for most of the night.  

He's not ashamed, but he is a little startled when Angela eases herself down next to him. 

"So, who is it?" she asks as a greeting. 

Jack unhooks the mask from his face and turns to her, to Angela, looking as young as the day Overwatch's Swiss HQ crumbled around them. As young as the day he'd gone tearing back in because no matter how pissed at Gabriel he was, no matter how much they fought, he wouldn't leave him alone to die in the rubble **.**  

He pushes those thoughts away and instead asks, "Who's what?" 

Angela smiles softly. "Who is it that keeps bringing you to Dorado?" she asks, reaching over to lay a hand on his arm. "The gang activity isn't bad enough to warrant this many visits from Soldier: 76, so why does _Jack_ keep coming back?" 

He doesn't really have any intentions of telling Angela the truth, but just then, the panaderia doors open and a familiar girl walks out, calling, "I'll be back soon, _mamá_!" and kicking the door shut. 

Angela's grip tightens on Jack's arm. "He didn't." 

"I don't know," Jack answers truthfully. "I don't know if _he_ knew." He stands up, extracting his arm from Angela's grip and clipping his mask back into place. "The resemblance, though, is..." 

"Uncanny," Angela breathes, mumbling something softly in German before taking the hand Jack offers her to help her stand up and following him across the nearby roof towards the market where the girl had headed. "He spent time in Dorado, didn't he? I remember Jesse saying he went on vacation." 

Jack nods. "Depending on how old the girl is, the timeline could match." 

Angela tears her eyes from the young girl and turns back to Jack. "What's her name?" 

"I don't know," Jack answers. "The one time I spoke to her, we were being shot at." 

Angela huffs out a sigh, mumbling, "We live strange lives," before she hops down from the roof, using the wings of the Valkyrie suit to slow her fall. 

"Angela!" Jack hisses. 

Angela waves an arm back at him in an effort to tell him to fuck off, Jack's sure, and he sighs as she waves her way through the crowd with murmured apologies until she's beside the girl, speaking softly to her. 

Jack can't hear the conversation from his vantage point (and he's not sure he wants to know why the girl looks so _excited_ to see Angela - Mercy - anyway), but it doesn't end up mattering as a wisp of black smoke catches his attention out of the corner of his eye. 

Shouldering his gun, Soldier: 76 prepares to work. 

* 

**\- Mercy -**

Angela beams at the girl - Alejandra, and was that so _hard,_ Jack? - as she pays for her purchases and hands them over, listening to her chatter about the stories her mother had told her about all of them. Angela hadn't joined Overwatch until fifteen years after the end of the Omnic Crisis, but she'd made a name for herself as a doctor before then and made even more of a name for herself as Overwatch's lead medical scientist - as Mercy - after joining. Her name isn't as much of a household name as Jack's, Ana's, or Reinhardt's, but people, especially those in medical science themselves, _know who she is_. She's proud of it, and seeing this little girl, too young to have seen many of the good days of Overwatch herself, so excited to meet _Mercy_ , reminds her of times before things began to crumble.  

But as she turns, still listening, her eyes catch Jack tearing across the rooftops towards - oh no. _Reaper_. 

Not here, please, not _here_. 

" _Señora_?" Alejandra yanks her back to the conversation. 

"It was a pleasure to meet you," Angela says hurriedly, spreading the wings of her suit. "Hurry inside, okay?" 

Alejandra follows her gaze. "Hey, it's him!" she says, startled, as her eyes fall on Jack. 

"Please, Alejandra," Angela says, almost begging. "Hurry home." 

She can't stick around to find out if Alejandra listens, though, flying up beside Reaper and shooting. He sees it coming, of course he does, and sidesteps the blasts as he turns. "Long time no see, _doc,_ " he bites out.  

She flinches. "Reaper-" she tries, but Reaper levels his guns at her and she has to fly out of the way of shots aimed at her chest. The suit is supposed to be bulletproof, according to Torbjörn, but she doesn't want to test it.  

She locks eyes with Jack's mask over Reaper's shoulder and he nods. At once, they both take off in opposite directions, away from the market, figuring Reaper will follow one of them. 

He's predictable, at least. He follows Angela. 

Angela's been traveling since shortly after the fall of Overwatch, looking for Reaper. He slips through her fingers each time, their encounters always end in a fight, but she keeps looking because she refuses to give up hope that somewhere in the wraith she created is the friend she tried to save.  

"Gabe," she pleads as she turns, once sure she's out of Jack's hearing range. "Please, I never meant for this to happen." 

"Live with your mistakes, doc," Reaper - Gabriel - says, and shoots.  

Angela dives off the roof to dodge and starts running through the empty streets, shooting at Reaper with her blaster even though she knows the shots won't hit - _because_ she knows the shots won't hit.  

"Please, Gabriel, give me a chance to _fix_ this," she begs as her clip runs out, no time to reload as Reaper solidifies again. 

"I think you've done plenty, _Mercy,_ " he snaps. 

"Hey!" a young voice calls from behind Reaper as a rock hits him in the back. Standing a few feet behind Reaper is Alejandra, brave, _dumb_ , little Alejandra, determined and looking so much like Gabriel used to that it _hurts_. 

But it's nothing compared to the fear for her when Reaper turns around.  

"Run!" Angela shouts, reloading her blaster and shooting. "Alejandra, run!" 

Alejandra ignores her. "Leave her alone!" she shouts at Reaper, scooping up another rock to throw. She doesn't get a chance. 

Jack jumps down from a nearby roof, landing hard in a way that _must_ have hurt his knees and gets off a good shot at Reaper that hits him square in the shoulder. He grabs Alejandra, practically hoisting her over one shoulder and causing her to drop her bag, and takes off with her to safety as Reaper stumbles backwards. 

Angela hesitates, murmuring, "Gabe-" and readying her staff, but he turns to smoke and disappears without responding. 

Did he know about Alejandra? Or did he just see his daughter for the first time? Did he recognize her? Would he have _shot_ her? 

Angela doesn't want to think about the answers to those questions. She straps her staff back on her back, picks up her blaster and the bag Alejandra had dropped, and follows 76's path through the streets. 

* 

She finds herself back at the panaderia, finds Alejandra sitting on the front steps, arms crossed and glaring at the Mission across the street. There's so much fire in her eyes that she looks like a totally different version of Gabe than before, and Angela pauses to reorient herself. 

She approaches a moment later with a soft call of, "Alejandra?" 

Alejandra startles and turns. "Oh." 

"Thank you," Angela says, handing over the bag, "but please don't do that again. You could have gotten seriously hurt." 

"I can handle myself," Alejandra mumbles petulantly, and Angela smiles. 

"I don't doubt that," she assures. "But leave Reaper to us, okay?" 

Alejandra pauses at that, asking, "Is that the guy with the skull mask? Reaper?"  

"That's the name he goes by," Angela confirms, but doesn't elaborate. "You should get inside. I hope all your things are there, I didn't see anything else in the street." 

Alejandra's grip on the bag tightens, but she nods, mumbling, " _Gracias_ ," and glancing at the Mission once more before entering the panaderia.  

Angela tries not to breathe a sigh of relief when the door clicks shut behind Alejandra, and turns to find Jack. 

* 

Jack's inside the Mission, in the old, forgotten tower room they'd let Overwatch use as a safehouse back before the Petras Act. It isn't the _safest_ place to be, considering Overwatch is no longer sanctioned and an ex-Overwatch member is chasing them, but it has a view of the panaderia and offers cover, if nothing else. He's sitting at the window, mask on, and glances over when she enters. 

"How long have you known?" 

Angela flinches. 

"Angela," Jack says. "How long have you known Reaper was Gabriel?" 

Angela sighs. "I didn't know at first," she says, unhooking her staff from her back so she can sit down on the bed in the room. 

"How _long_ , Angela?" Jack repeats. 

"About a year." Angela flinches again. "I've known for about a year." 

Jack exhales sharply. "Why didn't you _tell_ me?" 

Angela sighs. "At first, I wasn't sure. Then I didn't want to believe it myself," she says, looking up at Jack - or at the Soldier's mask, anyway. "Mostly I was ashamed." 

That clearly throws Jack for a loop. "What?" 

"He stumbled out of the ruins like you did, but collapsed. When I found him, he was almost gone." Angela curls her legs up and steels herself for the rest of the story. "I did everything I could in the field, but he was dying. No amount of bioptic healing was working. I should have let him go." Her hands curl into fists, resting lightly on her knees. "But I _meddled_. I thought maybe I could save him like I saved Genji." 

Angela feels the bed dip beside her, but doesn't - can't - look at Jack. She shifts away instead, continuing her story. "By the time I got him to the lab, he'd flatlined. I tried to resuscitate anyway, and got to work..." Her voice hitches and she swallows before continuing. "I thought I'd failed. I left; I went to check on Winston and Lena - I'd heard they'd made it to Gibraltar. I... gave up on him. A lab assistant called me two days later and said his body was gone. All that was left was some black smoke." 

Jack stays silent, but Angela can feel him there, sitting beside her, listening. 

"I don't know what caused it, but... somehow I trapped him between life and death. I think one of the medicines I pumped into him reacted to something from the SEP... or that's my guess. I used a lot of the same compounds on Genji - the only difference is that Genji didn't go through the SEP." 

"And on Genji they worked," Jack finally speaks. 

"Seems like they worked on Gabriel too. Just... differently." Angela sighs. "I should have told you earlier. He won't let me look to see if I can _fix_ this." 

"Can you?" Jack asks. 

"I don't know," Angela admits. "If I can figure out what caused it, maybe. But he won't stop shooting at me long enough to find out." 

Jack sighs, and silence falls for a few moments, neither one of them speaking. 

Finally, Angela speaks up. "Do you think he knows who 76 is?" 

"After seeing us together?" Jack glances over. "Probably." 

Angela finally scoots over, taking his arm and squeezing lightly, leaning her head carefully on his shoulder, seeking shared comfort for the first time in years. 

"He's working with _Talon_ ," Jack says a few moments later. 

"I know," Angela murmurs. 

"Shit, Gabe..." Jack mumbles, before falling silent again. Angela can't bring herself to speak up after that either. 

 * 

**-Reaper-**

The panaderia is as bustling and busy as he remembers and Gabriel suddenly feels _very_ exposed without his mask and hood. He has the hood of his plain sweatshirt pulled up, and guns within easy reach, not to mention he can always disappear if need be - the Reaper isn't a byproduct of the mask and hood, after all - but he can't help but feel out of place as he watches people make their way in and out of the shop.  

But _Reaper_ walking down the street will draw attention. As out of place as he feels, Gabriel won't. 

He'd followed Mercy back to the panaderia the night before - and wasn't that confirmation enough, really? He only spent a _week_ in and out of that place years ago. 

But no, he'd needed to know for sure. 

He doesn't have to watch the place for long before the girl - Alejandra, Angela had called her? - leaves, calling to her mother and hurrying off. 

He stands up to follow her, but stops at a call of, "Be careful, _mija_!" from the doorway. Alejandra's mother appears, sighing softly to herself as her daughter runs off. 

And it's her. The young shopkeeper he'd met years ago, spent a week with, and promptly forgotten about. 

Shit. 

He'd gotten her pregnant; she had a kid? 

He had a kid? 

He has a kid. 

And Mercy and Soldier: 76 - _Jack_ \- know about her. There's no mistaking Alejandra's resemblance to him, Gabriel just hadn't wanted to believe it. But here it is, clear as day, proven by everything except a damn paternity test.  

What the hell is he supposed to _do_ in this situation? 

His phone buzzing in his pocket answers that question for him. 

_We have a job to do. Where are you? I'll pick you up on the way._  

It's not part of the Reaper's policy to question paying work, and Talon pays _well_ for their work - plus they help him with his own goals. Win **-** win. 

But for the first time in a long time, Gabriel Reyes finds himself hesitating and not texting Widowmaker back right away. 

He watches his daughter disappear into the crowds by the market, waving and grinning to a friend as she runs towards them, and waits until she's completely out of sight before he finally responds. 

_Dorado. I'll meet you by the Power Plant._  

_5 minutes._  

Alejandra isn't his problem. She never knew him, and he has no obligation to a mistake he made years ago whose mother thinks he died in a building explosion in Switzerland. 

He turns, walks away, and doesn't look back. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had this vague idea a while ago and wrote this out and stressed over it for a while but whatever, here it is. There's more coming soon (hopefully). <3


	2. Chapter 2

**-Mercy-**  

Angela didn't intend to basically move to Dorado, but she's still there two months later. She finds herself helping out at the local hospital – they don't have anyone who knows much about bioptic healing, and Mercy _did_ revolutionize it, not that the nurses and doctors at the hospital realize that Dr. Ziegler and Mercy are one and the same – and she helps Jack find and secure a new safehouse. 

The new safehouse is down the street from the panaderia, nowhere near as convenient as the Mission had been, but safer simply since Talon doesn't know about it. She and Jack stay there, live there (mostly) peacefully, keeping an eye on Alejandra (who's finally stopped glaring at Jack every time she sees him), and (mostly) keeping each other out of trouble. And everything is almost _routine_ until the evening Angela sees Gabriel again. 

She's almost home, making her way through the market near the panaderia on her way to the new safehouse, when Alejandra comes running up to her with a shout of, "You're a doctor, right?" 

Angela startles. "Alej?  _Müüsli_ , what is it?" 

"Come on!" Alejandra tugs on her arm, dragging her down towards the panaderia and into one of the alleys behind it. There, laying collapsed on the ground, is an unconscious man. 

Shouting in surprise, Angela drops her bag and runs over to the man's side, kneeling down next to him and moving to check for a pulse and breath. 

"I found him a few minutes ago – he's breathing but he isn't waking up," Alejandra says hurriedly, running up next to her. 

Angela nods. "Thank you for getting me, Alej," she says, as her eyes fall on the unconscious man's face. Steeling her own, she turns back to Alejandra. "You did good. Now run home before your mother gets worried, okay?" 

Alejandra hesitates, but nods, running out of the alley, and Angela relaxes, turning back to the man. She keeps her fingers on his brachial pulse point and feels the rhythm continue steadily, mumbling, "Gabriel?"  

He isn't wearing his Reaper robes, just jeans and a black t-shirt, but his face... he's unmistakably Gabriel and he is  _clearly_  injured, though his breathing and his pulse are both steady.  

She lays a hand on his chest lightly. "Gabe, can you hear me? Gabriel!" 

She flinches backwards as her hand suddenly falls _through_ Gabe's body, which turns to smoke for a few moments before solidifying again. 

Angela curses colorfully in German before snapping, "Come on, Gabriel, wake up!" 

Gabe groans, blinking his eyes open. "Didn't know you could curse like that, doc." 

Angela exhales, ignoring his comment (and the fact that he apparently knows German curse words.) "How long have you been breaking down like this?" 

Gabe doesn't answer, fading and solidifying, and Angela curses once more. "Okay. I need you to stand and help me out here, I live a block away." She drags Gabriel to his feet with little assistance, leaning him against her shoulders and helping him hobble the excruciating block back to the first floor apartment she and Jack share. Jack's off in Numbani, so the apartment is thankfully empty when she pushes open the front door and drags Gabe through the kitchen and living room to her room. Laying him haphazardly on the bed, she dashes over to her workstation and grabs a syringe of one of her experimental medicines, readying his arm for it with practiced precision. 

She mumbles a quick plea in German as she injects it into his vein. 

His rapidly smoking body slowly begins to solidify again, until only a few wisps of smoke are left curling off of him, and she breathes a sigh of relief. Gabe's well and truly unconscious now, and Angela runs a hand across his forehead – no fever, thankfully – before setting down the syringe, fixing his position so he's actually laying on the bed instead of draped against it, and sitting down in a chair to keep watch over him. 

* 

**\- Reaper -**  

Gabe sleeps for almost two hours before he startles awake, and Angela hops up as soon as he moves. "Don't sit up too quickly," she warns. "How do you feel?" 

"Surprisingly solid," he admits, letting Angela help him sit up before remembering and jerking out of her grip.  "What did you do to me? Pump me with more shit?" 

"Don't worry, I tested it first," Angela says. "You were fading further by the second, Gabriel – I had no choice." 

"Hah, don't you _want_ me to fade? I'm actively trying to kill you," Gabriel reminded her. 

"And I'll be scared when you can lift your arms again," Angela answers. "I don't want you _dead_ , Gabriel. If I did, I'd never have gone back for you." 

"You shouldn't have," he bites. 

"I know," she answers. 

Gabriel is silent for a moment before he finally asks, "How'd you test the meds if I'm the only one fucked up like this?" 

"I was able to replicate what I did to you using some of Jack's blood," Angela answers, leaning back against her workstation. "This isn't a cure, but it should make you more stable. I'm still working on making it permanent." 

Gabe stiffens. "Is he here?" 

"He's in Numbani," Angela assures. "He won't be back for at least a week. You'll be back on your feet before he ever has to find out you were here." 

Gabe frowns, but doesn't say anything, so Angela picks up a thermometer and a clean, sterilized syringe from her workstation, stepping over to him.  

"Any chance you'll let me take a blood sample?" She asks, turning the thermometer on. 

"Didn't get enough while I was unconscious?" Gabe snaps. 

Angela sighs. "I'll take that as a no," she says. "It'll make finding a permanent fix easier, you know, but I won't take your blood against your will, _starrkopf._ Open up."  

Gabe hesitates, but lets her put the thermometer under his tongue. As she does so, her sleeve slips down, revealing blackened veins on her left arm. He practically spits the thermometer out as he grabs her arm with his weakened hand. "Angela, what the hell is happening to your arm?" 

Angela flinches her arm out of his (admittedly loose) grip. "Nothing, it'll fade in a few days. Put that thermometer back in your mouth." She turns away from him, walking over to her workbench as Gabe follows her instructions. Angela works silently for a few moments until the thermometer beeps and she steps back over, taking it from him. 

"What's your normal body temperature?" She asks, glancing at him. 

" _Dead,_ " Gabriel answers, rolling his eyes. 

"Good, you've got some warmth back, then," Angela retorts, putting the thermometer down and picking up the now-smoking petri dish of blood she'd been working on before. 

"Whose blood is that?" Gabe asks, leaning back carefully. 

"Jack's," Angela answers. "That vial is the medicine I gave you, the one that I believe caused this." She gestures to the vial she'd used on the blood while the thermometer was calculating. "And this," she lifts the vial in her other hand, "is what I just gave you a couple hours ago." She drops a couple of drops on the rapidly smoking blood, and immediately, it solidifies. 

"Why are you showing me this?" Gabriel asks, tearing his eyes away from the blood. 

"Because I know you don't trust me," Angela answers. "With good reason." She puts the petri dish of blood back down and covers it, but leaves it where Gabe can see it. "You should get some more sleep. I'd rather you not leave here until you've recovered." 

It's unspoken, but Gabe knows she wouldn't stop him if he did. 

She turns to leave the room, but Gabe stops her with a quick, "Angela." 

She pauses, startled by his use of her name, and turns back. 

"Thanks," Gabe forces out. 

"Of course." Angela offers a small smile and slips out of the room, leaving the door open. 

Against his better judgment, Gabe sinks back down into the pillows, and a few moments later, finds himself blissfully fast asleep. 

* 

When he wakes up again, the apartment is silent and Gabe can move. His arms, while heavy, are a lot less numb than before, and he pushes himself up to try his legs. Swaying a little, he manages to stand up, carefully making his way to the door. 

Angela is fast asleep on the couch, curled on her side with a book slipping from her grip. She's still in her rumpled clothes from earlier, but she doesn't stir when he walks in. 

Frowning, knowing he doesn't have the strength to pick her up to move her into her room – and shit, she'd put him in _her bed_ \- he leans down, shaking her lightly. 

"Angela." 

She startles, grabbing for a weapon that isn't there, and Gabe steps back to avoid a swung fist. Groaning when she realizes where she is, she mumbles, "Don't you know better than to wake me when I'm dead asleep, Gabe?" 

"I knew to back up," he replies. 

Angela smiles at that, before her smile falls. "Wait! What are you doing up, lay back down!" She jumps up, ushering him towards her room. 

"I needed to stretch my legs." Gabe steps sideways out of her grip, stepping back towards the couch. "You should go sleep in your bed; I'll take the couch." 

Angela stares accusingly at him as he eases himself down on the couch cushions. "Why?" 

"Because it's _your_ bed," he answers. "I'm not going anywhere," he assures, and he finds he means it. 

Angela hesitates again, but aquiesces, heading into her room but not shutting the door. Satisfied, Gabe shifts down onto the couch with a nod to himself, to wait out the night. 

* 

Gabe stays. 

He tells himself it's because he doesn't want to risk collapsing halfway to the train station, but that doesn't explain why he's still there when Angela stumbles out of her room to get coffee before heading to work, or why he doesn't _shoot her while he has the chance_. 

But he doesn't. He doesn't shoot her or leave until she's ready to leave for work, and even then, he finds himself sticking around Dorado even though he _should_ be getting out as fast as he can. 

Instead, his feet bring him to the Panaderia, and he sits where he'd sat weeks ago, last time he'd awkwardly spied on his – on _the_ kid. 

"So, you do know about her, then?" 

Gabe startles and finds Angela standing beside him. She offers a smile.  

"Didn't you say you had work?" Gabe asks, instead of answering her question. 

"I'm more of a volunteer," Angela says. "They won't miss me today." She sits down next to him. "You didn't answer my question." 

"I recognized her when I saw her last time," Gabe finally answers. "Is that what you want to hear?" 

Angela purses her lips, silent for a moment. "Have you gone to see her mother?" 

Gabe huffs out a laugh. "Her mother thinks I died in Switzerland, and it's better that way." He stands up, heading down the street towards the Mission without waiting for Angela, who hurries after him anyway. "I shouldn't be here anyway." 

Angela hesitates for a second before she finally asks, "So, why are you, then? No one's stopping you from leaving." 

He doesn't answer. He doesn't _know_ the answer. 

Finally, after walking in silence for a few minutes and finding themselves back in front of Angela's building, Angela speaks up again. "If you're staying, you're welcome to stay here." She gestures to the door behind her. "There's a third bedroom. It's filled with junk right now, but if you help me clean it out, you're welcome to it." 

"What about _Jack_?" Gabe asks, harsher than intended. 

"I told you, he's in Numbani," Angela answers. "But when he comes back, you should talk." 

Gabe snorts. 

"You were friends once. You were best friends," Angela says, as if he needs a reminder. When Gabe doesn't respond, she continues. "Anyway, you can always leave before he gets back. I won't stop you."  

With that, she unlocks the front door and walks in, leaving the door open as an invitation. 

After a moment, Gabe follows her in and shuts the door behind himself. 

* 

**-** **Mercy -**  

Two days later, Angela finds a vial of his blood on her workstation. Half of her is ready to strangle him for unsafe medical practices, but the other half of her realizes what a step this is – he trusts her, at least enough to give her some of his blood, to ask for help, even in a small way.  

And even if he isn't asking for help, he's offering her what she'd asked for.   

She smiles softly to herself and gets to work. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long! Got caught up in my other fic. More soon, thanks for reading! <3


	3. Chapter 3

**-Soldier: 76-**

Jack gets back to Dorado from a too-long trip to Numbani in the early hours of the morning, a day earlier than expected. Somewhere, in the back of his mind, he registers that there’s someone in the kitchen with Angela as he lets himself into the safehouse and crosses the living room to his bedroom, but that part of his brain is too exhausted and focused on sleeping for at least eight hours to deal with that information.

“Jack?” Angela's stiff, cautious voice calls across the apartment to him, but he ignores her, kicking his door shut behind him and collapsing almost immediately.

*

He wakes up nine and a half hours later as the sun is setting, with a now-fucked sleep schedule and a much clearer head, and has barely sat up before the part of his brain that registered Gabriel Reyes in the safe house's kitchen that morning kicks into gear. He freezes.

No. No, there’s no possible way Angela would have let Gabriel Reyes – Reaper – into their apartment without mentioning it to him.

( _You were in Numbani with no contact,_ the rational voice in his head reminds him. _How was she supposed to tell you?_

He ignores it.)

Jack stands up, grabbing his gun – just in case – and opens his bedroom door. Angela is curled up on the couch with a book open across her lap, and she glances up as he emerges, smiling even as her eyes fall on the rifle in his hands. "Planning to shoot someone, Jack?" She greets.

"Depends," Jack answers, glancing around. "Did I _imagine_ Gabriel Reyes standing in the kitchen this morning?"

Angela's smile falls and she shuts her book silently, shifting into a less relaxed position. "No, you didn't."

Jack is silent for a second, pursing his lips as he bites back a curse and settling on a pained, " _Why?_ "

Angela sighs. "Alej found him half-dead in an alley, Jack. She came to get me because she knows I'm a doctor. I wasn't going to leave him there."

"So you brought him _here_?" Jack asks, trying not to snap, grip tightening on the gun leaning on his shoulder.

"Where else was I supposed to take him?" Angela retorts. "To the hospital? He's a wanted man who's presumed dead and his ailments aren’t anything a regular doctor could help with."

Jack swallows, biting back a comment.

"Should I have put Alejandra and her mother at risk and gone to the safehouse we abandoned?" When Jack doesn't say anything, she speaks up again, softer this time. "I did this to him, Jack. I couldn't leave him there to die."

Jack sighs, putting his rifle down by his bedroom door and crossing over to the couch to sit down next to her. "How long was he here?"

"About a week," Angela answers. "He was in bad shape, I told him he could stay as long as he wanted. I don't know why he took me up on that offer, but he did. We weren't expecting you back until tomorrow, or I would have approached this situation a little more delicately. He didn't say in so many words, but I knew he was planning to leave before you got back."

Jack frowns. "So, where is he now?"

Angela shrugs softly, sighing. "Not sure. He left almost immediately after you got back, and I haven't seen him since. I'm sure he's still in Dorado," she offers.

Jack pauses. "If you knew where he was, would you tell me?"

Angela smiles. "Probably not," she admits.

Jack nods, standing back up and crossing the room to his rifle, shouldering it as Angela frowns. "Where are you going?"

"To see if I can track him down," Jack answers. "We need to have a chat."

"Last time you two tried to talk, you took a building down," Angela warns.

Jack glances back at her, face expressionless.

"Just don't kill him," she finally sighs. "I'm trying _really_ hard to keep him alive."

Jack manages to quirk a small smile at that. "No promises," he says, before letting himself out of the apartment.

*

He finds Gabriel at the Mission, sitting near the window in the old safehouse, pointedly not looking at the bakery down the street. Jack stops in the doorway, rifle in hand, struck for a moment by how _normal_ Gabe looks. Without the Reaper mask or hood, he looks almost like the same Gabriel he’d argued with two years ago - on the surface, at least.

The nagging, constant reminder that neither of them is the same as they were two years ago beats down that thought pretty quickly. Calmer than he feels, Jack finally speaks up, breaking the silence. "Did you come here because you knew I'd find you?"

Gabriel glances over. "If I did, do you really think I'd tell you?" He asks, before looking back down at the phone in his hands, sending off a quick message. "What _are_ you doing here, Jack?"

"Angela told me what happened," Jack answers, leaning against the doorframe. "She trusts you."

"She's not that smart," Gabe comments idly.

"She's one of – if not the best – nanobiologists in the world," Jack reminds him. "It was _your_ idea to recruit her."

Gabe shrugs lightly. "Guess I'm regretting that a bit, aren't I?"

"You're _alive_ , aren't you?" Jack grumbles, before huffing out a sigh. "Are you going to say _anything,_ or are we going to both sit here with hands on our guns, waiting for the other to shoot?"

Gabe turns on him. "What exactly do you want me to _say_ , Jack? I'm not going to _apologize._ "

Jack hesitates but speaks. "Fine, then. I will."

Gabriel startles. "What?"

"You got caught in the middle of a fuck-ton of political bullshit and Blackwatch became the scapegoat – _you_ became the scapegoat. I should have taken responsibility. I was the one who authorized Blackwatch, not you."

"I led it," Gabriel reminds him.

"On my authority," Jack cuts in. "It wasn't your burden to bear, but I let you get dragged through the mud to cover for the fact that I couldn't hold a failing organization together. We were breaking at the seams long before the shit publicly hit the fan."

Gabriel is silent, so Jack continues, words spilling out. “When things started to go south – when we lost Gérard and Amélie, when we lost _Ana_ , I – “ he cuts that sentence off. “I made decisions as the strike commander of Overwatch that I _regret_ as Jack Morrison.”

“Don’t give me that bullshit,” Gabe snaps. “Some of your _worst_ decisions were made as Jack Morrison. Or are you forgetting Venice?”

“Do you _regret_ killing Antonio?” Jack retorts.

“Of course not,” Gabe growls. “Even less after what happened to Gérard later.” He pauses. “Do you regret looking the other way?”

“No,” Jack answers without hesitation. “He deserved what he got, even if it caused us a lot of trouble in the long run.”

“It _collapsed the entire organization_ in the long run,” Gabriel deadpans. “And buried the two of us under three feet of debris.” They’re both quiet for a minute, before Gabe speaks up again. “I probably could have been quieter about it,” he finally admits.

Jack barks out a laugh. “Quiet was never your strong suit, Gabriel.”

Gabe quirks a smile at that.

Silence hangs between them for a little while before Jack finally speaks again. “So, if you don’t regret taking action against them in Blackwatch, why are you with Talon now?”

Gabe sighs. “I’m not telling you that, Jack.”

Jack’s gaze turns steely. “You want me to trust you despite knowing you’re working for the same terrorist organization we collapsed our own organization trying to take down? Despite you trying to _kill_ both me and Angela several times over as Reaper?”

“I’m not _asking_ you to do anything.” Gabe snaps at him. “I didn’t ask Angela to save me, and I didn’t ask you to hunt me down. You want to forget about this conversation, _fine_. Find a new safehouse I don’t know about and continue watching over my daughter like you’re her fucking guardian angel.”

“This isn’t about Alejandra,” Jack growls.

“This whole thing is _entirely_ because of Alejandra,” Gabriel snaps. “Do you really think we’d be standing here right now, having this conversation if we weren’t both well aware she’s less than a block away? If she didn’t exist, you and Angela wouldn’t have ended up staying in Dorado. You’d still have no idea who’s under the Reaper mask and I’d still be blissfully unaware that you fucking survived.”

Jack pauses. “It’s starting to sound like you still want me dead.”

“Never said I didn’t,” Gabe bites out.

Jack pauses, staring him down for a moment, before he lowers his rifle from his shoulder and drops it carefully to the ground next to him, spreading his arms. “Then kill me.”

Gabe turns and stands. Without a word, he raises a gun, pointing it directly at Jack’s chest, and holds it there, silently.

“What are you waiting for?” Jack asks after neither of them makes a move.

“Don’t tempt me,” Gabe growls out, lowering his gun. Jack relaxes, but before he can speak again, Gabe reels back, punching him square in the jaw.

Jack stumbles back, hand on his chin as he stares at Gabe, surprised.

“I’m not going to _kill_ you,” Gabe snaps. “At least not on the same day you apologize for being an idiot.” He pauses as Jack rolls his eyes. “But don’t push me, you’re not off my list yet.”

Jack smirks at that, shouldering his rifle again.

They stand there in communicative silence for a moment before Gabe holsters his guns and turns towards the door. “Well, this has been _fun_ and all, but my ride’ll be here soon.”

Jack hesitates, but what is he going to do? Ask him where he’s going? Ask him to _stay_?

He settles for a calm, “Well, then I guess I’ll see you around, Gabe.”

Gabe nods at him, the smallest of smirks on his face. “See you around, Jack.”

Then he turns and a moment later, he’s gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can you tell Retribution gave me some ideas for how to get this to work? Because it did. Most of this was planned before Retribution, but I definitely altered some stuff because how could I not.
> 
> Anyway, next up we get to skip time a little and bring another Overwatch character into the story. And best of all, I've already got two pages of that chapter written. (I'm so sorry for the delays.)


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